I've followed Zoco Home on Instagram for a while now, always drooling over their Andalucian/Ibizan/Mallorcan inspired furnishings and accessories. I've never really clocked where they are...
Lifestyle…
Slow design. Slow life.
This doesn’t mean we’re lazy – far from it. It just means that we’ve stood back, taken stock and slowed down the pace of things. We’ve (largely) stopped the 9-5 working day and we spend more time living. It hasn’t been easy making such big changes – coming from a city that never stops to a rural village has taken some getting used to, but we’re getting there. Our whole lifestyle is becoming much more balanced.
Our lifestyle now much more takes into account what we buy, what we eat, how we cook, how we relax. How we’ve largely weaned ourselves away from convenience and are now taking a much considered approach to how we live our lives. We still work full time from home and we’re planning our next adventure, but we do try to make time to live life.
Slowing down has had such a positive impact, that we want to share what inspires us and what has enabled a shift in our lifestyle.
What we’ve done isn’t rocket science. It’s just about savouring moments that we might have missed before, because we were just too busy. Too pre-occupied. And even if it’s just watching a sunset, getting in the car and having a night away or making a spicy curry on a Friday evening, listening to Kylie Minogue, well – we savour it…
recent lifestyle blogs
when the bread recipes just get easier…
It's been a while since we've made our favourite Irish soda bread - https://www.wearelifestyles.com/cheesy-irish-soda-bread/ - because we've not had our own oven for so long. But, we wanted to get...
fishy ceramics
We have a Chinese Bazaar supermarket in our time, which is proving to be a bit of a treasure trove. We often find ourselves short of screws or nails, or can't find the mallet or need a tiny bit more...
sunday roast cravings : satisfied
We love our new lives in Andalucia and are immersing ourselves as much as we possibly can, mid-renovation. Sometimes though, especially in the cooler months - and this is why my thoughts are turning...
eating our way around bergamo
Bergamo is a fabulous city in Lombardy, northern Italy, not too far from Milan. It's often overlooked for Milan, but don't make that mistake - you'll only regret it. With a medieval walled upper...
hello december…
And just like that, we're into the coldest and darkest part of the year. It only seems days ago that we were sweltering in the garden, throwing windows wide open, dispensing with even summer duvets...
winter is coming
Summer this year, seemed to last way into October. We had two lots of friends stay with us over this month, and both times, we were able to sit out in the garden and soak up the sun, as well as eat...
oaty apple & cinnamon crumble…
I am not a baker. Not by any stretch of the imagination. I can cook. I can follow a recipe, sometimes go a bit off-piste, and I'm definitely OK with one-pot stews and soups and casseroles. But...
spicy food fixes
We've come a long way since we moved to Istria, in being able to satisfy our spice cravings. There's still nothing - quite - on our doorstep, as we used to have on Burton Road in West Didsbury, but...
bread point bakery : poreĉ
We've missed sourdough bread since we moved to Istria. We did find it once, in a Konzum supermarket in Rovinj, but have never found it again. Italy, so far, hasn't turned it up either for us. We...
one dish speedy pasta bake
This meal is definitely one of our favourite go-to recipes, especially when the nights are getting darker earlier and you just need a bit of comfort food. It's so easy and you will definitely have...
the easiest recipe, ever…
If you are a fan of curry, then this is a perfect recipe. I found this on Instagram, and just had to give it a go as I couldn't believe that a curry - or, soup, as the recipe calls it - could be...
ikea mash soup…
Yep, you saw that right. We really did use a packet of IKEA frozen mash in a recent soup recipe. And, believe you me, it was a bit of a game-changer. Our freezer often has a few packets of this...
sprout and stilton cheese quiche
Stilton cheese and brussel sprouts, combined, to form the filling for a quiche. I mean, what's not to love? We adapted this recipe slightly - the original recipe called for the sprouts to be halved...
structural gardens
Over the years, our gardens have evolved. The front garden has become more private as we have had walls constructed, not only to denote our boundaries, but also to provide us with privacy. The rear...
bacon and brie bake
When we go to Lidl - either here, or in Slovenia, which is probably the closest one to us - and they have a Special Week, we often stock up. When it's Greek Week, the trolley is full of smoky tuna,...
cheesy irish soda bread
A while ago I discovered the easiest bread recipe using just four ingredients - plain flour, baking soda, salt and 0% fat plain drinkable yogurt. For the record, Siggis yoghurt is the best. By far....
creamy mushroom stroganoff
We made this last night, and it is utterly delicious. It's super simple to make and requires very few ingredients that you'd probably have in the cupboard anyway. what you'll need 2 tbsp...
savoury summer tart
I'm so glad summer is here for lots of reasons, but one of the main ones, is that our food intake changes. Gone are the stews and heavy soups of winter, which are delicious, but can be just a bit...